Either way, a firesafe and a LipoSack are good things to have in the first place. That's how I charge all my batteries, every time, and I always carry mine to the field in the LipoSack (and occasionally the firesafe, too).

I find it impossible that a lipo can break rib bones and the spine. There must be an explanation. Besides, for a lipo to explode and break someone's spine, I find it hard to believe they can still identify the phone let alone just seeing a melted phone. I'm betting he some how broke his spine, and that action crushed the lipo causing it heat up and melt. I mean, the guy was found in a quarry, he probably fell.

I find it impossible that a lipo can break rib bones and the spine. There must be an explanation. Besides, for a lipo to explode and break someone's spine, I find it hard to believe they can still identify the phone let alone just seeing a melted phone. I'm betting he some how broke his spine, and that action crushed the lipo causing it heat up and melt. I mean, the guy was found in a quarry, he probably fell.

I tend to agree with you since for a pack to explode and do so much damage to the man's skeletal structure, the phone would have not melted but would have been blown to smitherens.

Perhaps this man was the victim of foul play, or of an unfortunate accident that caused his cell phone battery to ignite and melt the case. Interesting they do not mention burns to his body or clothing in the article.

Mythbusters anyone? Perhaps they can get one to explode with sufficient force to do some damage. Cell phone batts are sometimes in hard cases, so there could be some pressure build up, but I would be very surprized if there are not vents designed to prevent explosion. Othewise it seems most likely that the battery cooking off was enough to startle or stun the guy, and then he fell which caused the damage to the ribs and spine. If he was in his living room, then maybe not, but a quarry is not the safest place on the planet.

I gotta wonder. My cell phone wasn't charging properly a few months ago and when I opened it up, the back of the case jumped off! Seems the battery swelled. This link has a pic of the cell battery. It didn't vent so I'm not sure what it would have done ultimately.

"We presume that the cell phone battery exploded," the police official said on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still under way.

Kim Hoon, a doctor who examined the body, said the death was probably caused by an explosion of the battery.

"He sustained an injury that is similar to a burn in the left chest and his ribs and spine were broken," Yonhap news agency quoted Kim as saying.

I definitely admit it's suspicious. Perhaps we'll learn more about the details before the media drops coverage all-together.

Yes, I suppose we are.

"We presume" is not a definite case closing statement, IMHO.

The force required to break the man's ribs and spine would have blown the cell phone up and would have, in all likelihood put a hole in his chest, something akin to injuries sustained by people who have had M80s explode while hodling them. Hand mangled badly if not gone altogether.

Post Mortem (if one is performed) will definitely state cause of death of this man. As I have stated before, he could have been the victim of an unfortunate accident (fall, heart attack, whatever) or foul play which may have caused him to hit something hard enough to break his bones and damage his cell phone in the process, thereby damaging it and causing its battery pack to ignite and melt its case.

Since we have no photos, all we can do is speculate. We all have a right to express our opinions, which is exactly what we are doing here.